Confessions in the Afterlife
by Ekko Rayne
Summary: This is a happier ending for Zabuza and Haku after their deaths. It's the gentler side of Zabuza that you only get to see a glimpse of at the very end of his life. Please R&R.


_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters of story line affiliated with either the anime or the manga. All rights are reserved for its creator.**_

_Author's Note: I wanted to write this story after I saw the battle with Zabuza. After Haku and he were both killed the emotional part at the end gave me an idea for this story. I hope you enjoy it._

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_**Confessions in the Afterlife**_

Haku opened his eyes to a brilliant light that reminded him of the continuously falling snow that coated the land of his old village. It was a beautiful place, peaceful in every sense of the word. He thought back trying to remember how he had gotten here and he remembered his fight with Naruto, remembered how he had begged him to end his life so that he could move on, not continue to feel like the blunt weapon he had become. Then he remembered the fog that Zabuza had created lifting and that's when he saw his master, his very reason for living fixing to receive a blow from the copycat ninja, Kakashi, a blow that would have ended his life. It was then that Haku had finally seen one more reason for his existence.

Haku had blocked Naruto's killing attack and had rushed to stand between Kakashi's attack and Zabuza becoming his human shield. It had been his last and final act for the person who had meant the most to him. _That's right. I died in the moment when Kakashi's attack hit me instead of Zabuza. I was able to serve him one last time, sacrificing my life in exchange for his. I may have been a blunt weapon there at the end but I was his shield when he needed me the most. _Haku looked around the magnificent place where he awoke. _I don't understand where I am. I have killed men. I do not deserve to be in such a place as this. _

"You're wondering why you're here instead of in the dark abyss of Hell are you not Haku?"

He turned his head to see Zabuza sitting beside him; he had not been there a moment ago. There was something different about the Zabuza sitting at his side than the one he had left in the world of the living. Haku noticed that his eyes were kinder, gentler than they had ever been. _What has caused this change in the man that I served for many years? _

"Haku you're heart and spirit have always remained pure despite all that you have done. There was no other place you could have gone other than here. You are where you deserve to be. Hell does not deserve to be graced with a soul as untarnished and gentle as yours."

"Zabuza what happened to you? I don't understand?"

Zabuza laughed, a sound that was unlike anything Haku had heard before. It was not a laugh that belonged to the Demon Hidden in the Mist. It was a laugh of a man who had found some form of happiness in a life that had been nothing but a broken dream in the end. It was another thing that Haku didn't understand.

"It was the babbling rant of that knucklehead ninja that made me realize your true worth to me. I had viewed you, your abilities, as nothing more than a weapon to use at me leisure. I did not see the boy behind the mask that you so chose to wear. I did not realize it until you were already gone, lying cold at my feet. It was because of the idiot boy that I realized all that you sacrificed for me to achieve my dream."

Haku regarded the rogue ninja beside him. His gaze was questioning, searching to find some comprehension in what Zabuza was saying. "Zabuza you saved me from a lonely death when I was a child, you gave me a purpose when I no longer felt that I was of any use. That was more than I could have ever asked for."

"I want you to understand Haku that I could have given you more than what I had. I could have given you the chance to form your own dreams and not just the thought that you had to stand by me so that I could achieve my own. I was selfish in this regard. I saw nothing but my own selfish ambitions and it was because of that that you lost your life." His smile was sad as he regarded Haku, his eyes boring into his trying to make him understand. "If there is a person who does not deserve to be in this place then that person is me."

Haku reached out and touch his hand to Zabuza's arm. "What happened to you Zabuza…after I died?"

Zabuza pulled his gaze away from Haku and stared off into the brilliant light surrounding them; he was lost in the memories of what was now the past, the end of what had been their lived. "After that boy made me realize what I had been too foolish to see Gato arrived. You're body was there in front of him and he disrespected it. What he did…it made my control snap. He had people with him, foolish weak idiots serving him in his new quest to destroy us. I didn't care. I asked that idiot boy for his blade and I let the demon I was known for take over. Bloodlust was the only thing I felt as I went after Gato, my battered body not feeling anything other than the pain of losing you. He took out Gato, but I knew I had lost the battle of life in the process but I no longer cared. Kakashi helped me with my final request. He took my dying body and placed me next to you. I wanted to see you one last time before I was sent to the darkest place a soul could go. Then it snowed. It was so pure and beautiful. The snow it reminded me of your spirit and it was with that snow falling around us that I took my final breath and my eyes closed. When they reopened I was here beside you."

Haku kept his eyes on the man who had given him a second chance at living and realized that beneath the cold exterior, even in the darkest parts of this man's heart, there had lain a gentle soul. It was then that he also realized that even as a shinobi he was still human with human emotions and a heart that could love or hate.

"Zabuza your soul was always a kind one even if it was buried in hate and darkness. Now that you are here with me I will serve you in this afterlife of ours."

Zabuza turned his eyes back to the boy who had kept that part of him pure. He shook his head as a smile, a smile of friendship and compassion, turned his face into that of a softer man. "No Haku, I do not want you to serve me in this life. If you wish to follow me then follow me as my friend, a companion. You are no longer a weapon. You are free to choose and do as you so please."

The boy in question smiled the first truly happy smile that had ever graced his lips in the last few long years. A smile that hadn't been seen since the days of his youth when he was naïve child intent on the belief that the world could remain a happy place and his parents were both still alive and with him. "Then I will follow you Zabuza…as your friend."

Both turned away to stare into the light. Their hearts were finally pure and full of pure happiness that chased the remnants of darkness away. They had made their confessions in this afterlife and had found a friendship that had been worth dying for. Their souls were now both finally at peace.

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_Okay this was my first Naruto fic. I don't know how well of a job I did but I like the way it turned out. I wanted Zabuza and Haku to have a happier ending than the one they received. Thank you for reading. Please take the time to leave a review of a flame. ta!_


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